Alastair Cook is too good a player not to return to form at some point. What he must ask himself is whether he can do that while he is captain.

Cook’s brain seems scrambled and he is having to work so hard on his leadership that I wonder whether he has the mental energy to work on his batting as well.

I am sure there is a hundred just around the corner but it will take a lot of grit, determination and a little bit of luck for Cook to get there. MS Dhoni took his nick on day two but didn’t go for one offered by Gary Ballance.

Crossroad: England captain Alastair Cook has some decisions to make after another failure at Lord's

Out of nick: Cook looks back as his edge lands in the gloves of MS Dhoni on day two of the second Test

Under pressure: Cook's dismissal for 10 continues his horror run of form

Even if Cook gets runs in the second innings here he will have to decide whether he has enough in the tank to sort everything out for the third Test.

Cook’s captaincy hasn’t been good since the first innings at Trent Bridge. He has been reactive and has to take the blame for how England bowled here.

England have had the better of conditions here and may yet go on to win the game but India have shown how best to exploit the conditions.

You could argue, of course, that it is the bowlers’ fault that opportunities were wasted on Thursday but the tactics are set by the captain.

Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad know what they want and like to set their own fields but the captain has to get his way because the wins and losses go against his name.

Broad and Anderson are wonderful assets and Cook has to captain them well and make sure they think they’re getting what they want. Even if it’s the captain who is doing it his way.

Cook has been in the job for a couple of
years but he still has a lot to learn. One area of concern is that too
many decisions are being made off the field, such as when England
bowled the right lengths only after lunch on the first day. And Cook
seems too slow to think on his feet and change plans.

Assets: Cook needs to make James Anderson and Stuart Broad think they're getting what they want

In the pavilion: Cook appears to make too many decisions off the field

He has to sit down at the end of this Test and ask himself whether putting so much energy into trying to be a better captain is harming his game.

What I want to see is Cook getting hundreds for England again. Just say he didn’t play in the third Test. What would we miss most? We’d miss the runs he scores when he is in form more than his captaincy.

The bottom line for me is whether Cook feels that giving up the captaincy would give himself the best chance of scoring runs again. He is not a natural leader and has to work so hard at it. But what England need is for him to be their rock again.

There is always someone else who could be captain; someone who could surprise us with his leadership. But I want Cook back scoring hundreds, whatever it takes.